Traverse City, Mich. – The first rounds of 2023 Gotham North/FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships presented by USHJA are in the books after the Children and Pre-Juniors completed their first team and individual qualifiers on Wednesday morning at Traverse City Horse Shows.
The Children’s division was first on the schedule, with 17 athletes putting down their first scores against the clock. Lauren Padilla from Zone 10 had the fastest clear round with Diadem de Revel VG, a 2010 Danish Warmblood stallion owned by Highland Farm, LLC. Padilla finished with no jumping faults and a winning time of 66.72 seconds, well within the time allowed and nearly two seconds faster than the next fastest finishers. Second place came down to a tie, with Zone 9’s Isabella Smith and Quinka, her own 2009 Holsteiner mare, and Zone 4’s Taylor Finkle and Sheldon, her own 2010 KWPN gelding, both finishing on a time of 68.49 seconds.
For the team standings, two teams are tied for the top spot with no penalties carrying over into the next phase. The combined team from Zones 1 and 2 along with the Zone 4 team stand in first place. The combined Zones 7/8/9 team is close behind in third place with just two penalties to carry over.
In the Pre-Junior division, Canada’s Mathilde Candele rode her own Disco de Pleville, a 2013 Selle Français gelding, to the top spot individually. The pair came late in the order, putting down a 62.30-second round that proved unbeatable. Zone 10’s Lauren Frandson rode her own Golda, a 2014 Holsteiner mare, to finish in 62.85 seconds and land in second place on the leaderboard. Her Zone 10 teammate, Scarlett Wallis riding her own 2012 Oldenburg gelding, Samurai, finished in 63.47 seconds to finish in third place for the class.
Zone 10 currently holds the top spot after the first individual qualifier with a team total of 1.83 penalties. They’ll have two rails in hand for the next round as the second-position Canadian team is just over eight penalties behind with 9.85 penalties. Zone 4 sits in a very close third-place position with 9.97.
Team competition for both the Children and Pre-Juniors will conclude on Thursday, August 10, with the Team Final & Second Individual rounds taking center stage in the Turtle Creek International Ring. The Children’s competition begins at 8:00 a.m. ET and the Pre-Juniors will start at 11:30 a.m. The Junior and Young Rider divisions will get underway with their first competition on Thursday afternoon.
Current Standings:
Children Individual
- Lauren Padilla and Diadem de Revel VG (Zone 10)
- Isabella Smith and Quinka (Zone 9)
(tie) Taylor Finkle and Sheldon (Zone 4)
Pre-Junior Individual
- Mathilde Candele and Disco de Pleville (Canada)
- Lauren Frandson and Golda (Zone 10)
- Scarlett Wallis and Samurai (Zone 10)
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